When I was a kid, almost every episode of Sesame Street included a bit with a song that went something like,
"One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?".
And usually what would be shown was a grid containing three triangles and one circle, or three cats and one dog, or three tools and a shoe, or something like that, and then the person singing the song would explain which item was different from the others.
This morning, the Weizmann Institute held a party to which all Institute staff and students were invited - probably close to two thousand people.
And what occasioned these festivities?
The unveiling of Weizmann's new logo.
Below are examples of the old and new logos. I'm not saying which is which. Five brownie points for anyone who can spot the differences in less than 5 seconds.
With that kind of money to spend on frivolities, it's no wonder the Israel Tax Authorities have been considering taxing the interest and investment income on Weizmann's endowment. And with so little difference in the logos, one wonders if some of the people at the Institute need to watch more Sesame Street. Especially with Israel's universities dropping in world rankings.
Interestingly, Weizmann has 11 trademarks registered in Israel, including several on the logo, but as of this writing, the Israel PTO database doesn't show an application, let alone a registration, for the new logo.